Russellville officials will unveil their new recycling center today that will allow area residents to recycle numerous items rather than trashing them.

The city's new Recycle Works facility is designed to accept newspapers, aluminum cans, metal cans, plastic bottles, cardboard, paper grocery bags and paper products, thus keeping those items out of landfills, said Jim Kelley, the facility's coordinator. A grand opening is scheduled for the facility at 2 p.m. today. The facility is located at 3115 South Mobile Ave. in Russellville, adjacent to the Russellville Animal Shelter just off Highway 7T.

City leaders have high hopes for the center and say its success is dependent on the level of usage by area residents. Taking the items to be recycled is free to the public.

"It simply won't work without the support of the community," Kelley said. "Participation is the key."

Mayor Raye Turner said establishing a recycling program for the city has been a priority during her administration.

"It has been a long time coming," she said. "I think the citizens will appreciate this service."

Kelley said he has been actively participating in a recycling plan during the past several months, and it is noticing how much less trash is produced because many items are being recycled. He encouraged residents to take extra time when throwing away items to sort items that can be recycled and bring them to the facility.

"It's amazing how much it reduces your trash," he said. "It will benefit the community in a number of ways."

Those bringing items to the facility are asked to separate recyclables into three categories:

n Newspapers solely.

n Aluminum cans, metal cans and plastic bottles can all be grouped together.

n Cardboard, paper grocery bags and paper products can all be grouped together.

Patrons are asked to clean the items as much as possible before taking them to the center because items will be manually sorted when they reach the sorting center.

The recycling center will be open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. each of those days, and from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The facility's contact phone number is 968-2213.

The program is funded through a grant provided by the Western Arkansas Solid Waste District.